December 10, 2023
University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill has resigned.
The leader of the Ivy League school stepped down on Saturday after her testimony before a congressional hearing on antisemitism on U.S. college campuses drew widespread criticism and renewed calls for her resignation after months of controversy.
In a statement, Penn board of trustees chairman Scott Bok said that he and Magill “concurrently agreed that it was time for her to exit” after her response to questions about Penn’s policies on antisemitism and free speech during a tense exchange with lawmakers sparked a firestorm of condemnation.
Just hours after announcing Magill’s resignation, Bok also resigned. Bok, who has defended Magill amid mounting criticism in recent months, was reportedly asked to stay on as chairman as the university looks for a new president to replace Magill, according to the Associated Press. Bok declined those requests, opting to step down immediately.
The leadership shakeup at Penn comes after months of criticism from donors and U.S. politicians regarding the university’s handling of acts of perceived antisemitism in the wake of Israel’s war in Gaza and growing worldwide protests over its large civilian death toll. Since the the latest phase of that war began in early October, Penn has found itself at the center of intensifying controversy regarding its response to the war itself and various on-campus incidents, ranging from an uptick in antisemitic and anti-Israel graffiti to the planned screening of a documentary that is critical of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
In response to the tense shift in climate on U.S. college campuses, Magill and other university leaders were called to testify before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce last Tuesday. During the hearing, Magill was joined by Harvard president Claudine Gay and MIT president Sally Kornbluth as lawmakers probed the Ivy League institutions’ policies regarding antisemitism and free speech – and precisely where the line between the two is drawn on university campuses.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Magill was asked by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik whether Penn’s policies explicitly forbid calls of violence against Jews.
"I am asking specifically — calling for the genocide of Jews, does that constitute bullying or harassment?" Stefanik said.
When pushed to clarify whether such statements would violate Penn's policies, Magill responded that the university's response would be "a context-dependent decision."
"That's your testimony today? Calling for the genocide of Jews is depending upon the context?" Rep. Stefanik said.
The response drew criticism from members of both political parties – including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who condemned Magill’s remarks during a visit to Philadelphia last week – and led to renewed calls for Magill to step down.
On Thursday, Magill released a video statement in which she sought to clarify her remarks amid an intensifying backlash.
"I want to be clear," Magill said in the video. "A call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening — deeply so. It is intentionally meant to terrify a people who have been subjected to pogroms and hatred for centuries and were the victims of mass genocide in the Holocaust."
In October, Magill faced calls for her resignation after some Penn alumni said she failed to decisively condemn the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 that prompted Israel's current military assault on Gaza.
Even before the war began, Penn faced criticism for hosting Palestine Writes Literature Festival, an event celebrating Palestinian culture that featured some speakers who previously espoused views perceived as being antisemitic. Penn has since developed an action plan to combat antisemitism on campus by enhancing safety and security procedures, increasing student engagement and expanding education on campus.
Penn is one of seven U.S. schools now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for complaints about antisemitism and potential civil rights violations that have occurred on campus.
The ongoing efforts by Penn leadership to quell the months-long controversy swirling around its approach to free speech and antisemitism reached a breaking point on Saturday evening as Magill and Bok stepped down.
Magill, law professor and former U.S. Supreme Court clerk, will remain at Penn as a tenured faculty member of the university's Carey Law School. She will continue to serve as Penn's president until a replacement is found.
